


Gifts

by derwent



Category: Watchmen (2009)
Genre: Developing Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:01:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26791807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/derwent/pseuds/derwent
Summary: Dan's distracted during patrol.
Relationships: Dan Dreiberg/Adrian Veidt
Kudos: 8





	Gifts

Dan saw the fist flying to his face in slow motion, like in the movies. His brain registered the action a second too slow, and right before the fist collided with his face, it finally issued a command: _block it now!_

He fell sprawled on his back. The red brick of the buildings on either side of the alley framed the black sky above. On a window to his right the curtain twitched back and a face briefly appeared, taking one cautious gaze below before abruptly drawing it close again.

A pained yelp reached his ears, and it took a moment for him to realize the sound didn’t come from his mouth. The familiar sound of rope being fastened followed. Then, Ozy – no, that concerned face is all Adrian’s – loomed close, blocking out everything else.

“Are you injured?”

He shook his head. “Just my pride,” he joked half-heartedly. An arm was offered, and he accepted it gratefully, rising to his feet. The five criminals slumped against a dumpster, the rope binding them in a chain. “I’ll make the call.”

Adrian’s arm on his shoulder stopped him. “Leave it to me,” his tone firm. “Go get Archie.”

*

A short while later Dan set Archie on autopilot mode. Beneath, the multi-coloured city gleamed, reminding him of the gems adorning his mother’s jewellery. Sighing, he reached out to turn on the police radio.

“Don’t,” Adrian said quietly from the co-pilot’s seat. Startled, Dan met his gaze. “Let’s just call it a night.”

“It’s not even midnight yet!” Dan protested.

Adrian raised one golden eyebrow. “You got knocked down by a punch a five-year-old could dodge. You forgot your goggles. _You tripped over your own cape_. At this rate, Dan, you’ll end up in the ER.”

He was right, of course. And that was not even the worst case scenario; Dan wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if his clumsiness results in his partner getting hurt.

“You’re right,” he conceded, lips quirked upward in a humourless smile. He leaned back against his seat.

“What got you so distracted anyway?”

Dan bit his lip. He took off his cowl, hand trying and failing to tame his sweat-damp hair. He could shrug the question off, pretend that it was just one of those off-kilter nights. He could make a joke about today being Monday. The blond man would accept that, Dan knew, and they could drop the subject. They could go on their usual way.

But . . . for all that Dan insisted on them taking it slow, they were fast becoming something more than casual. There was a drawer in his kitchen filled with Adrian’s favourite variants of tea. Adrian knew which records to play to get Dan out of his bad moods. With his previous girlfriends, by this point in their relationships, he certainly wouldn’t hesitate to talk about what was bothering him.

And why not now? It was as good a time as any, he supposed. It wasn’t like he was divulging some childhood trauma or something. He was just going to bring up a topic they never talked about before.

“It’s my mother’s birthday this Friday,” he finally answered. He stole a glance at the other man, whose head tilted slightly in concentration.

“My aunt’s throwing her birthday party, and the entire family’s coming down to the house to spend the weekend celebrating. I have to show up, obviously, and I do love my mother. It’s just –” he shut his eyes in frustration. “Just, I’m not looking forward to all the nagging, you know? ‘Dan, when are you going to quit all this mask nonsense? Dan, we can really use your help at the bank. Dan, when will you finally do something with your life?’” _Dan, when will you meet a nice girl and settle down?_ He thought but didn’t say out loud. What was the point?

“So, you know . . .” Dan trailed off and shrugged.

“Do you really have to spend the entire weekend there?”

He let out a sigh. “No, I supposed I _could_ make some excuses and just show up for the actual party. But –” Dan shrugged again. “It’s not that bad, honestly. When they’re not nagging, my family make for pretty good company. The trade-off’s worth it – it’s just that I’ve got to psych myself up for the whole thing.”

“I suppose so,” Adrian agreed. But something in his tone made Dan think that he didn’t really understand. With his timeless mien, Dan wouldn’t be surprised if Adrian had emerged fully grown from the sea. He didn’t seem to need human connection the way Dan – or most people – did, and even this . . . relationship they had, Dan wasn’t sure if Adrian valued it the way he did.

He remembered something else, then. “Dammit, my mom’s taking me out for this fancy dinner with a couple of my dad’s old colleagues from the bank, too.” He would’ve banged his head against the control, but the thought of Adrian watching him being more pathetic than usual beat the impulse.

“Should I give you the name of my tailor?” Adrian asked, amusement in his voice.

“Nah, I got that. Thanks for the offer, though.” The smile he gave Adrian was the most genuine this night.

*

Telling ~~Adrian~~ someone about his situation seemed to be the nudge he needed to get up and start preparing for the weekend. The next morning, refreshed by more sleep than usual, he went out, dropped off his suit at the dry cleaners, and finally made up his mind and bought his mother’s gift.

He just finished dinner when the doorbell rang. Frowning, he went to the door and found Adrian’s driver on the other side.

“Mr. Dreiberg? I hope I didn’t disturb you. Mr. Veidt asked me to deliver this to you,” he gave Dan a small box, wrapped in plain violet paper. “He would’ve given it to you himself, but there was an urgent meeting he couldn’t get out of,” the driver said apologetically.

Dan thanked the driver, closed the door behind him and sat down on the couch. Gifts weren’t something they did, at least not until now. He unwrapped the paper and opened the box.

A pair of tiny sapphire eyes on a silver face stared back at him. The owl-shaped cufflinks had an understated elegance, the kind that a man with good taste would not be embarrassed to be seen wearing.

He almost missed the card beneath the box. Inside, written in Adrian’s familiar cursive, was a short note:

> _Dan,_
> 
> _Call me if you need an excuse to leave early._
> 
> _Adrian_

He couldn’t help the smile curling his lips. Somehow, Dan felt as if he just got an answer for a question he didn’t know he had.


End file.
